mohammad fayaz

The phenomenon of dust storms has become a global environmental challenge. As a natural disaster, it has significantly affected Khuzestan province due to its geographical location and proximity to vast desert areas. This study aims to examine land management strategies to mitigate dust production in the southeastern dust source of Ahvaz by implementing effective land management techniques to control wind erosion in this region.

To conduct this research, ecological land resources—including climate, geology, soil properties, land use, vegetation cover, wind erosion, and agricultural and livestock conditions were analyzed using satellite imagery and extensive field surveys. By overlaying maps, the dust source area was classified into ecologically homogeneous units (work units). Based on the physical and chemical properties of the soil, the vegetative potential for biological stabilization was determined according to the ecological requirements of native plant species. Soil samples were collected from 106 points at three depths, and soil erodibility was assessed using a wind tunnel. A wind erosion sensitivity map was then generated to prioritize the stabilization of work units. The characteristics of erosive winds were analyzed using hourly wind speed and direction data from 21 meteorological stations. After creating a database of ecological resources in a GIS environment, the vegetative potential of the work units was evaluated using soil properties. Subsequently, specific stabilization projects were proposed for each work unit.

The findings of this study indicate that the stabilization strategy was planned systematically, considering the ecosystem type, and dust control projects were designed based on land use classifications. The land use distribution of the dust source area includes 37% rangelands, 10% bare lands, 11% dried wetlands, 24% rainfed agriculture, and 13% irrigated agriculture. The proposed projects included biological measures such as shrub planting, afforestation, roadside tree planting, and living windbreaks along farm edges, as well as management strategies such as soil moistening, leaching, irrigation, grazing control, construction of non-living windbreaks, and rainwater harvesting techniques. Analysis of the energy trend of erosive winds over the past decade revealed no significant changes. Instead, the activation of dust sources was attributed to land use changes, precipitation patterns, and drought occurrences.

The lack of water allocation to downstream ecosystems, combined with the construction of large dams and multiple watershed management structures in upstream areas, has led to the transformation of wetlands and sedimentary plains into major dust sources and has contributed to surface soil salinization. Restoring flood capacity in these areas was achieved through the construction of water supply channels to meet the water demands of biological stabilization projects and facilitate the moistening of wind erosion-sensitive units. Overall, the implementation of these projects demonstrated that this ecosystem restoration-based approach, with a focus on wind erosion-prone lands, can serve as an effective model for stabilizing the country’s dust source areas.

The outcome of hospitalized COVID-19 patients is predictable according to demographic, clinical, laboratory, and imaging risk factors. We aimed to determine the best outcome predictors and their trends during 30 days of hospitalization.

This retrospective study was conducted on moderate to severe hospitalized COVID-19 patients from 26 January 2020 to 13 January 2021. The length of stay in the hospital was considered as the time interval between admission and discharge, and the patient's final condition was defined as either dead or alive. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were collected from the hospital information system. The generalized additive model and the Cox regression model were used to model data.

Of the 1520 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, 232 (15.26%) died and 1288 survived or reached the end of 30 days of hospitalization. We selected demographic, clinical, and 131 independent laboratory variables. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) had a nearly double average in the dead group (44.603 [± 25.408] mg/dL) than the survived group (21.304 [± 13.318] mg/dL), and the lymphocyte (Lymph) count showed the opposite trend. The estimated hazard ratio (HR) of these 2 factors was higher than 1 and was statistically significant. In daily stay trends, the hazard function of them also increased rapidly after 15 days.

Blood urea nitrogen and complete blood count provide strong predictive clues about the prognosis of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, and rapid dynamic changes in the second week can predict a poor outcome in these patients.

In order to determinating of the grazing behavior tali goat as dominant livestock, this investigation was done from 2007 for 4 years in Sirik rangeland of Hormozgan province. Parameters examined in this study included time arrival and departure of livestock from pastures, daily distance traveled by livestock, livestock path in the rangeland considering the slope, livestock speed (mean and maximum) and the time spent for livestock rest, grazing and movement per day. To determine the parameters, Garmin GPS was used on the back of a 4- year-old ewe using a special belt. After livestock exit from the fold, GPS was active and at the end of the day all recorded data were extracted by Mod-track in Ilwis software. The livestock path was determined by shepherd. The results of livestock grazing behavior in the months of the grazing season for the four years studied showed that there was a significant difference between average mileage and grazing time in different years and for the months of the grazing season, all behaviors except mileage. The average speed of livestock was 2.65 km / h, the distance traveled was 12.8 km and the grazing time was 4 hours and 49 minutes. Also, during the study years, 44 to 45% of the time when livestock was moving in the pasture was dedicated to grazing. It is worth mentioning that the information extracted from the correlation of GPS livestock route map with the slope map of the region showed that in all five months during the years under review, all distance traveled by livestock is in the slope class of 0-8%.

One of the important factors in determining the grazing capacity of rangelands is determining the preferred value of rangeland plants according to the type of livestock using the rangeland and its changes during the grazing season. In this study, the preference value of rangeland species in Zaminsang rangeland in Hormozgan province in the months of grazing season (January to May) and different years (2007-2010) was investigated. To determine the preference value, the method of utilization percentage of plant species and determination of preference index were used. The results were analyzed in a split plot statistical design in time in a randomized complete block design in SAS software and the statistical mean of the studied trait was compared with LSD test. The results showed that the most preferred livestock is primarily Aeluropus lagopoides and Atriplex leucoclada and Alhagi graecorum. The lowest percentage of exploitation was from Halocnemum strobilaceum and Desmostachya bipinnata. Based on the preference value index classification, Aeluropus lagopoides and Atriplex leucoclada species are relatively palatable species (relative preference), Alhagi graecorum and Halocnemum strobilaceum species are moderately palatable species (moderate preference) and Desmostachya bipinnata was one of the almost non-palatable (relative avoidance) species.

The bagging (BG) and random forest (RF) are famous supervised statistical learning methods based on classification and regression trees. The BG and RF can deal with different types of responses such as categorical, continuous, etc. There are curves, time series, functional data, or observations that are related to each other based on their domain in many statistical applications. The RF methods are extended to some cases for functional data as covariates or responses in many pieces of literature. Among them, random-splitting is used to summarize the functional data to the multiple related summary statistics such as average, etc.

This research article extends this method and introduces the mixed data BG (MD-BG) and RF (MD-RF) algorithm for multiple functional and non-functional, or mixed and hybrid data, covariates and it calculates the variable importance plot (VIP) for each covariate.

The main differences between MD-BG and MD-RF are in choosing the covariates that in the first, all covariates remain in the model but the second uses a random sample of covariates.  The MD-RF helps to unmask the most important parts of functional covariates and the most important non-functional covariates.

We apply our methods on the two datasets of DTI and Tecator and compare their performances for continuous and categorical responses with the developed R package (“RSRF”) in the GitHub.

The main purpose of this study is to do modeling and investigate the relationship between liquidity and its role in the development of the stock and the housing market. This is accomplished through comparing 10 of Bayesian Averaging methods and principal component analysis carrying out an extensive set of simulation studies based closely on real datasets that span a range of situations encountered in practical data analysis. The data used in this article includes the seasonal data during the period from (1385:1) to (1399:4. The evaluation results show 4 types of PC, so that the first PC shows more than 95% of the changes. In the first PC, the two variables of liquidity and exchange rate have the most weight, and respectively, the second, third and fourth PC are related to oil revenues, legal deposit ratio and coin price. The variables of liquidity, exchange rate and oil revenues have a positive relationship with the index of stock and housing prices, and the variables of the legal deposit ratio and the price of coins have a negative relationship with the index of stock and housing prices. Also, the estimation results of the 10 analyzed models of Bayesian averaging show that in the modeling of the stock price index as well as the modeling of the housing price index, the best models are obtained through applying PCA and the prior distribution of AIC. Therefore, the use of the principal component analysis and the AIC model as a basis for approximating the probabilities of the posterior model, under the condition that the probabilities of the prior model are similar to Zellner's g-prior, is approved in this research.

Spiritual health is one of the four dimensions of human health and is an effective factor in promoting health. Sexual self - efficacy is associated with one's belief in th e ability to function effectively and adapt to their partner, a form of self - assessment and self - efficacy. The p urpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between spiritual health and sexual self - efficacy in pregnant women referring to Sananda j health centers in 2019 .

Methods :

The current study is descriptive c ross - sectional. The statistical population of the study included pregnant women referring to health/ treatment centers in Sanandaj (28 centers and 35 bases) in 2018. The sample size, as c alculated based on Cochran's formula, was 384 people, who were randomly selected by random cluster sampling method out of the mentioned women. Data collection instruments were a demographic information checklist, Narenji’s Spiritual Health Questionnaire, W aziri and Lotfi Kashani’s Sexual Self - efficacy and Enrich’s Marital Satisfaction questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive (mean and standard deviation) and inferential (t - tests, regression and Pearson correlation) statistics. In th is study, all ethical considerations were observed and the authors did not report any conflict of interests .

The results showed that the mean sc ore related to spiritual health of pregnant women was 310/0±4/33. The mean score for sexual self - effic acy in pregnant women was 458/0±4/26. Analysis of variance results showed a significant relationship between spiritual health and its dimensions with sexual self - efficacy (r=0.72) (P<0.05). Spiritual health could also predict sexual self - efficacy in pregna nt women. The results of regression showed that spiritual health in pregnancy could explain 51% of the variance in sexual self - efficacy in pregnant women .

The results of this study showed that sexual self - efficacy and spiritual health of the sa mple population were in good conditions. Spiritual health also had a positive effect on sexual self - efficacy

The control, management, and prevention of driving accidents and risky driving are regarded as concerns for numerous countries, according to the World Health Organization. In this regard, many technologies, such as count stations, are recommended. They count traffic offenses, such as speeding and unsafe distance, hourly and daily, and have different patterns according to the hour of the day and the location.

This study aimed to investigate the risky driving behaviors according to traffic offenses in Iran and estimate their hourly and spatial patterns using generalized additive models (GAMs) and stochastic partial differential equation methods.

There were 2,316 count data stations for one month within March-April 2019. This study estimated the hourly average of each traffic offense, Pearson’s and Spearman’s correlations, and the energy statistics for testing the bivariate normal distribution. There are five distributions, such as univariate Poisson, quasi-likelihood Poisson, Gaussian, location-scale Gaussian, and bivariate Gaussian in GAMs, to study the hourly patterns which were compared to the mean squared error (MSE) and correlation.

The hourly average of total vehicles and number of speeding and unsafe distance offenses per count station had positive skew distributions with mean values equal to 347 ± 456, 22.5 ± 44.2, and 65.9 ± 150, respectively. The correlation between traffic offenses in most provinces was significant, not large, and different. The GAM with the bivariate Gaussian distribution had the best performance according to the MSE and correlation. It revealed three hourly patterns for count predictions; the first was that speeding is higher than unsafe distances; the second was that unsafe distances are higher than speeding; the third was that speeding and unsafe distances do not have a specific pattern in some hours. The percentage of speeding was higher in the central, northeast, and southeast regions than in other parts of Iran, and the percentage of unsafe distances was higher for the north, northwest, west, and some parts of the southwest than in other parts of Iran, respectively.

The hourly pattern of traffic offenses exists and has a complex structure. The spatial pattern of traffic offenses shows the riskiest points in Iran.

Measuring the diversity and identifying plant vegetation traits and functional groups and classifying them, in addition to helping to accurately identify the vegetative capacity of the area, helps us to understand the vegetation response of the area to disturbances and presence. Potentially resistant species with similar or invasive traits help. The purpose of this study was to investigate and evaluate the vegetative status of the region, the trend of changes and evaluation of the second sequence of dust centers in Khuzestan after planting seedlings in different ways. Functional groups (PFTs) were used. To evaluate the changes in the vegetation of the area by field survey, 15 transects of 100 meters with distances of 50 meters were systematically randomly selected (the first transect was randomly selected and the rest with a defined distance of 50 meters). Due to the uniformity of plant species composition and the absence of environmental effects, a total of 180 fixed plots with dimensions of 1 square meter (location recording with GPS device) were installed. The results of a recent study in three areas of the dust center in the southeast of Ahvaz showed that in selected areas, various irrigation methods along with rainfall will cause significant changes in the percentage of cover (frequency) and the number of species from 2017 to 2020. Functional groups in the Tovayel region with surface irrigation (Faro) In 2020, nine groups were identified, in Bagan region with tanker irrigation and hole digging with seven excavators, and in Hanitieh region with tanker irrigation and hole digging seven functional groups. The results of T-test analysis also showed that there is a significant difference between the average of the two values of all indicators, including the diversity of Shannon and Simpson in March 2017 and March 2020 for all three regions so diversity indicators raised since number of species and cover increased.

In order to investigate the preference value of plants, this study was conducted in Sirik rangeland in Hormozgan province. To determine the preferred value in this region, two methods of timing and production and consumption of plant species were used. The results of analysis of variance of the preferred value in both timing methods (using a video camera) and the operating percentage yielded the same results. Because in both methods, there was no statistically significant difference at the level of 5% between the years and months of the study and only a significant difference between species. In the chronological method, Sphaerocoma aucheri with statistically assigned the highest mean (29.8%) along with annuals with an average (28.9%) were placed in a class statistically, followed by Moltkiopsis ciliata and Cenchrus pennisetoformis 9.3 and 7.8, respectively. In the method of exploitation percentage, the highest exploitation percentage was Cenchrus pennisetoformis with 52.9%, although with Heliotropium bacciferum with 49.6%, Moltkiopsis ciliata with 45.8%, Sphaerocoma aucheri with 44.6% and Cyprus conglomeratus with 44.5% were in a group. In the Sirik region, Sphaerocoma aucheri was one of the high density and high consumption species and Cenchrus pennisetoformis was the low density and high consumption species. Sphaerocoma aucheri was in the first place in terms of preference value, but it should be noted that livestock tends to graze more than annuals at the beginning of the growing season and at the end of the growing season with drying or seeding of grasses, annuals are received less attention.

The appropriate and permissible utilization of the rangeland causes stability, prevention of degradation, stability of high quality plants and improvement of its condition. Appropriate grazing intensity causes continuous and economic use in rangeland and to achieve stability and continuity of production in rangelands and determine the most appropriate level of exploitation, study the effect of different harvest intensities on forage production of three important species of Cenchrus pennisetiformis, Panicum turgidum and Sphaerocoma aucheri in Sirik region of Hormozgan province since 2006 for four years. Experimental treatments included four harvest intensities of 25, 50 and 75% and control (without harvest). In each treatment, 10 rootstocks of the species were considered as replicates, which were evaluated on each of the dependent variables. The results were analyzed in SAS software. The results showed that different harvest intensities, years and months studied and their interactions in species are very significant. Harvest intensity affected the amount of green forage and species height and all treatments were significantly different from the control. Therefore, an allowable harvest of up to 50% can be suggested for the above species.

In recent years, the outflows from the Karun Basin, especially in the interior of Khuzestan province, have decreased significantly. This study aimed to investigate the effect of climatic factors and drought on the inflow and outflow of the Karun basin in two parts (basin area inside Khuzestan plain and basin area outside Khuzestan plain).  The results indicate the onset of adverse climate change during the last two decades. During this period, especially in the last ten years, the study has witnessed a large decrease in rainfall compared to the previous decade in the Karun Basin. Changes in average, minimum, and maximum temperatures, evaporation and drought have also increased during the last two decades. Also, the results related to the effect of climatic parameters on the output discharge of the Karun basin showed that in Khuzestan province 83% of the output discharge changes were affected by climatic parameters (including rainfall, drought, and maximum temperature, respectively) and outside Khuzestan, 82% of discharge changes are due to climatic parameters (including rainfall, maximum temperature, and drought, respectively). Meanwhile, the surface currents of the basin during the last decade have been more critical than other decades and the output discharge outside Khuzestan (input to the province) has decreased by about 27%, and inside the province and the output of the basin has decreased by 44%, which due to the almost identical effect of climate on both areas, these changes can be attributed to the existence of other factors, including land management and human factors.

Cymbopogon olivieri is a perennial grass in tropical regions. This species has very high compatibility in the rangelands of Khuzestan province by benefiting from type C4 photosynthesis. This species is specific to warm areas. The variation in the habitats of this species causes differences in phenotypes and forage yield of its populations. In order to evaluate the populations of Cymbopogon olivieri species, at first, the addresses of herbarium were studied, and its habitats in Khuzestan province were identified by field surveys. Then, at the appropriate time, the seeds of seven identified populations were harvested from different habitats of the province and were planted in the Baghmalek research station and evaluated for three years (2011-2014) after establishment.  To measure the traits from each population, at the stage of spike emergence, aerial parts of plants were harvested in three plots of 3 m2 from a height of 5 cm above the ground. After counting the number of tillers and plant height, they were dried and weighed in an oven at 70 ° C for 48 hours to determine dry forage yield, aerial parts. There was a significant difference between the studied populations for dry forage yield, plant height, and the number of tillers. The highest forage yield of Cymbopogan olivieri in the third year after the establishment of populations collected from Dezful-Dez Dam, Masjed Soleiman-Bardemar and Ahvaz-Masjed Soleiman route with a production of about 110 g dry m-2 and then Shushtar -Abgah, and Dezful- Shahion with a production of about 100 g dry m-2 respectively. In terms of plant height, populations related to Dezful-Dez Dam, Shushtar-Abgah, and Dezful-Sardasht-Gavmir with a longitudinal growth of more than 50 cm were statistically superior. In terms of mean tiller number per plant, the Dezful-Dez dam population with 125 tillers had the highest and the Ahwaz-Masjed Soleiman route population with an average of 69 tillers had the lowest tiller number per plant.

This study was conducted in the aeolian dust sources of the southeast of Ahvaz to determine the best survival method for planted seedlings. Full calipering method (%100 inventory) used for 16.2 hectares planted seedling. Sampling sample-line methods were performed with a fixed number of trees (in intensities of 10 and 13%) and a sample plot with a fixed area in five sampling networks with different dimensions of the sample plot and three intensities of 5, 10, and 13%. Then, a one-sample t-test was used to compare the mean of each method with the percentage of survival in the %100 sampled method at a significance level of %95. According to the results of %100 statistics, the survival rate of seedlings planted in the field was %72.9. The results indicated that the sample-line method with an intensity of 13% (average of 80 holes per sample line) had the closest estimate (71.8%) to the percentage of real survival. Also, the 30×30 m sample plot method with 13% intensity and 70×100 m network dimensions showed the closest estimate (72.1%) to the real survival percentage. Results of the single sample t-test showed that the sample-line method with sampling intensity below 13% was not significantly different from the control. Among the studied methods, only methods E (10% fixed area with 90 ×100 grid dimensions) and G (13% fixed area with 90×100 grid dimensions) differed from the control. The lowest percentage of standard errors belonged to H (13% fixed area with 70×100 grid dimensions) and I (13% fixed area with 35×100 grid dimensions). The lowest percentage of standard errors belonged to H (13% fixed area with 70×100 grid dimensions) and I (13% fixed area with 35×100 grid dimensions). Totally, this study showed, the area sampling method is superior to the sample-line methods estimate the percentage of survival in the planted areas, and in general. It is suggested to use the H method (fixed area 13% with 70×100 grid dimensions) in forestry areas.

In the program of increasing forage production, it is necessary to collect information about the establishment of forage plants. In this regard, the native population's seeds of sainfoin (Onobrychis altissima.) were collected to study different rangeland cultivation methods from the rangeland areas of Baladeh Noor watershed in Mazandaran province in 2013 and at the research station of Poshtkooh with an average 320 mm of rainfall in a cold semi-arid climate. The cultivation were in two forms: seeding and seed scattering treatments, which were performed on spring and fall sowing in the form of split plots based on the randomized complete block design in three replications. The main treatment of the experiment was date of rangeland cultivation and the sub-plot was (seeding and seed scattering). Factors studied included plant height, canopy cover, seed production, plant production, and establishment percentage. The results show a significant difference between sowing and in spring and fall for the studied factors (plant height, canopy, production, seed and species production. Seeding method in fall had the highest values of the studied factors. Therefore, it is possible to improve the rangelands of similar climatic zones with sainfoin by sowing to increase forage production and direct grazing.

In order to determine the appropriate season and method of rangeland planting of Onobrychis chorassanica Bunge., and providing conditions for increasing forage production of degraded rangelands in arid and semi-arid climates, two separate experiments were carried out in split plots in a randomized complete block design with four replications during the years 2013 to 2017 in Golestan preserved summer rangeland of Mashhad on the northern slope of the Binalood Mountains. The treatments were rangeland planting seasons (autumn and spring) and planting methods (seeding in pitting and in shallow grooves). In the first experiment, the mean comparisons of the combined analysis for two years showed that the emergence and seedlings establishments were 57.7% and 26.1%, in 2014-2015 growth season, respectively, were significantly higher than the 2013-2014 (21.5% and 10.4%). Results also indicated that the emergence and seedlings establishment percentage (58.8% and 26.8%) in the autumn season showed significant differences with spring (20.4% and 9.7%). Mean comparisons of rangeland planting methods had no significant difference in both growing seasons. The results of the second experiment showed that the seedlings establishment percentage (22.1%) in the 2nd year of establishment was significantly lower than (26.1%) comparing with the first year. Although establishment percentage in autumn season was increased by 2.7 times compared with spring season, but planting dates had no significant effect on leaves, stem and fruit dry matter yield. The planting method with pitting led to a significant increase in leaves, stem, fruit and total areal biomass yield with 2.2, 4.8, 4.2 and 11.2 gr plant -1, respectively, by 58, 33, 14 and 26%, compared to shallow groove planting method. The results of this study showed that autumn rangeland season is preferable to spring but seeding in shallow grooves compared to pitting is not significantly different in increasing the percentage of emergence and seedling establishment. However, seeding in pitting leads to improved forage and seed yield and ultimately production stability.

The purpose of this study is estimating and comparing the three different dimensions of the EEG and studying the trials variability for two auditory and visually oddball tasks in the healthy subjects. They include regional as the region of the brain, longitudinal as the repetition of the stimuli, and functional as whole curve of Evoked Related Potential (ERP), dimensions.

The sample size is seventeen, with six females, in this three-trial study with standard and target stimuli per task. The dataset was downloaded from the internet and preprocessed. The Hybrid Principal Component Analysis (HPCA) decomposed the ERPs and estimated eigen components of three dimensions. The 95% Bayesian credible sets and trial effects as random effects of the first eigen component of each dimensions studied with the Generalized Additive Mixed Model (GAMM).

The p-values of the interaction effects between time and stimuli, repeats and stimuli and regions and stimuli are <0.05 for three dimensions, except in auditory task of longitudinal dimension and in visual task of regional dimension that are >0.05. The p-value of trial effects are <0.05 and for auditory task in the longitudinal dimension is borderline.  

The HPCA methodology decompose the time-domain ERPs to the functional-longitudinal and regional dimensions. The first eigencompments capture the most variations of every dimensions and we study the behavior of three-dimensions with them. We conclude that the repeating of the stimuli has a positive effect on the visual tasks. We also study the variability between trials with GAMM that are statistically significant.

This study was aimed at investigating the effects of planting time and method on the establishment and production of Onobrychis subnitens (sainfoin) in rainfed conditions of Saral research station (365 mm annual rainfall) in Sanandaj (Kurdistan-Iran) during 2013 -2016. Two planting times (spring and fall) and methods (line sowing and seeding) were studied in a split-plot design based on the randomized complete block design in three replications. The results showed that in the third year of cultivation, the average percentage of plant establishment in the plot was 53%, the average canopy cover of the plot was 45.4%, and the average fresh and dry forage yield of the plot (8 m2) were 5268.5 (6585.6 kg ha-1) and 2831.5 g (3539.4 kg ha-1), respectively. Traits of plant establishment percentage, plant density, average canopy cover, dry and fresh forage yield showed a significant difference (p < /em>≤0.05) between fall and spring sowing; however, the difference between line sowing and seeding methods and the interaction effects of time and planting method was not significant for the traits studied. The forage yield showed a significant positive correlation with plant height, plant weight, main stem number per plant, plot green cover percentage, plant vigor rate, and dry to fresh weight ratio of forage (p≤0.01), and also a significant positive correlation with plant density in plot and average plant canopy diameter (p≤0.05). Based on the results of the regression of forage yield as an independent variable on other traits, the plant fresh weight, plant height, and established plants percentage in the plot showed the highest contributions in the forage yield. This result indicates the high and direct impact of these traits as the main components of forage yield. In general, considering the relative superiority of plant establishment percentage and average forage yield in fall planting and line sowing method compared to spring sowing and seeding method, as the final result, fall seeding of this species in Sanandaj and similar areas is recommended.

Perennial forage grasses are the most important range species in tropical regions. Cenchrus ciliaris is one of the forage perennial grasses with the C4 photosynthesis type, which is specific to tropical regions and has very high adaptability to the rangelands of Khuzestan province. Diversity in such habitats has led to differences in phenotype and yield of ecotype. To implement this project, the habitats were first determined by examining the herbarium addresses and field observations of Cenchrus in Khuzestan province. Subsequently, at the appropriate time, the seeds were harvested from 13 habitats identified in the province and cultivated in the research station Baghmalek and evaluated for three years after the establishment. Results indicated that there was a significant difference between the populations for dry forage yield, plant height, and tiller number. The highest forage yield, the number of tillers, and the height of plant belonged to Cenchrus ciliaris, collected from Shushtar – Cham-Konar with an average of 220 g of dry forage/m2, 130 tillers in the plant, and 55 cm height in the third year after establishment. Among the studied accessions, apparent differences were observed in the vegetative form, so that the population of the Shushtar-Chamknar was erect completely, while, the population of the Behbahan was quite wide on the ground.

Helianthemum lippii and Tavernieracuneifoliais are the most important broadleaf  plants of Hormozgan province, Iran. To investigate the establishment of these species, this study was conducted at the Watershed Management and Natural Resources Station of Dehgin (Hormozgan province) from November 2014 for three years. The three methods of seeding in farrow, pitting, and crescent catchment were studied in a randomized complete block design with three replications in SAS software. The results showed that there was a statistically significant difference between experimental structures, plant species used, and also the interaction of structure and species. A statistically significant difference was recorded for Helianthemum lippii and Taverniera cuneifolia at the level of 5%, for the crescent catchment structures, pitting, and contour-furrow at the level of 1%, and also for the interaction of structure and species at the level of 1%.  The highest percentage of species establishment was in the crescent catchment structure with 27.1% and the lowest was related to the pitting structure with 3.2%. Investigation of the interaction of structure and species in the rate of species establishement in different structures showed that the highest percentage of establishement was related to Taverniera cuneifolia with 31.2% in the crescent-shaped structure, after that, the highest percentage of establishment was related to Helianthemum lippii with 22.9% in the same structure. The lowest establishment was related to the contour-furrow structure with 2.1% for Taverniera cuneifolia and pitting structure with 2.1% for Helianthemum lippii. Based on the results of the present study, it is suggested that to successfully implement rangeland cultivation projects with Lippii Helianthemum and Taverniera cuneifolia in similar climates of Hormozgan province, the mentioned species should be planted in crescent-shaped structures.

 The aim of this study was to investigate the best planting time and method of A. podolobus</em>. The experiment was conducted as a split plot design based on a completely randomized block design with three replications at Hana Semirom station, Isfahan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center during 2013 to 2015. Main factor was sowing date (fall and spring) and sub plot was sowing method (linear seeding and crescent shaped bounds). The results showed a significant effect of planting time, planting method, and its interactions on the percentage of establishment. The percentage of establishment of fall cultivation was 14.28% and spring planting was 27.78%. The lowest percentage of establishment was observed with 6.35% in sowing method and the highest with 35.71% in crescent banquet method. The interaction of this trait showed that the lowest percentage of establishment was observed in spring cultivation treatment and seeding method (4.76%) and the highest percentage was observed in crescent and spring cultivation methods (47.61%). The results indicated that crescent-shaped bounds were more appropriate in both spring and fall cultivation. Forage yield was strongly affected by the planting season and in fall and spring cultivation and were 7 and 15.6 grams per plant, respectively. Forage yield was 9.5 g in seeding method and 13.16 g in crescent bounds. The range of changes in this trait ranged from 6 g in fall cultivation and seeding method to 18.33 g per plant in spring cultivation and crescent bounds method. In general, the results showed that for planting this species in semi-steppe areas, spring planting in the form of crescent bounds and non-coating seeds is suitable for maximum establishment.

Rainfall storage with plant species planting is used for rehabilitation and improvement of rangelands, especially in arid areas. In this study the effect of rainfall storage treatments furrow, pitting and crescent pond on the establishment of Ferula tabasensis in Kalmand Bahadoran area of Yazd province was evaluated. This area is one of the habitats of the species studied. Seeds were planted at two season, early fall as autumn sowing and late winter as spring sowing. The research was a split plot design, based on randomized complete blocks with three replications. The main plot was planting time (spring and autumn) and sub plot was planting method (farrow, pitting and crescent pond). The seeds were planted in 2013 and 2014. The results showed that seed emergence rate in autumn were significantly higher than spring planting. Among the planting methods, the impact of the crescent pond method was slightly more than the other two methods. In general, planting methods caused more than 50% seed emergence. Although some of these seedlings were destroyed for various reasons, however, the establishment of about 30% of seedlings shows that the methods of rainwater harvesting in the establishment of cultivated plants have had a positive effect.

Knowledge of preference value of plant species is one of the essential requirements for determining forage available and consequently, calculation of grazing capacity for rangeland habitats. This project was investigated in 36 species including of 21 perennials and 15 annuals species. For this purpose, during four-years period (2007-2010) in each month of the growing season (spring and summer) film was taken from a non-pregnant and non -lactating unit adult ewes (Lori)for at least 1800 seconds with an average weight of 50 kg inside the flock which were grazing in rangeland. Results indicated that annual grasses such as Boissiera squarrosa, Bromus danthonia, Bromus tectorum, Heteranthelium piliferum had the highest grazing time with a total duration of 3083 seconds compared to other species. Subsequent species including of Agropyron trichophorum with 2594 seconds, Bromus tomentellus with 1232 seconds, Onobrychis melanotricha with 681 seconds, broadleaf herbaceous annual such as Helianthemum ledifolhum, Viciea peregerina, Diplotaxis erucoides, talaspi perfoliatum, Minuartia obtusiloba with 670 second and Hordeum bulbosum with 565 second were ranked in the next. Finally, it was found that annual grasses and shrubs in May, perennial grasses in June, and broadleaf herbaceous annual in July have quite palatable and located in Class I. Also, total grasses and perennial forbs in July, annual forbs and shrubs in May and June have fairly palatable respectively which have located in class (II) and vegetative forms have palatable class III in other months.

Rangelands are the main source of forage production whose degradation is being accelerated due to improper utilities. Furthermore, re-vegetation of palatable plants like Vicia variabilis is more limited in overgrazed rangelands. The objective of this study was to improve degraded rangelands in Meleh-Kabud (Kermanshah, Iran) through planting Vicia variabilis. The research was conducted at experimental plot scale using split plot comprising treatments of season and method cultivations. Treatments included Planting time and methods with three replications with seeds collected in the study area. Seeding seasons comprised early spring and early autumn, but seeding methods were row seed sowing and broadcast seeding. Data collection was carried out for sprouting and establishment during two years. Rate of shooting appearance was evaluated in the first year (2016), while plant survival rate assessed in the second year (2017). Results indicated planting seasons affect both shooting and survival rates for Vicia variabilis. Furthermore, early spring season was found more suitable. Shooting and survival rates through row seed sowing were 20.00 and 13.83%, respectively. In contrast, these respective rates via broadcast seeding were reduced to 2.67 and 1.17 percent. We concluded that row sowing in early spring was the optimal method for rangelands in Kermanshah province.